Never Ending Loneliness
by kamigoshi
Summary: Mai has a fear of being alone from the past, and now it's coming back to haunt her on a case she never expected to get. Everyday she is slowly breaking apart but the reason is hidden deep within her heart. Can Lin help her open up to SPR or rather...him?
1. Chapter 1

**Third fanfic!  
i'm still trying to get the hang of this, so dont judge me just yet!  
hmm, it's a Lin x Mai fanfic  
not a Naru x Mai  
so if you dont like this... coupling... dont read ;D**

**i think my writing is pretty good in this... but later on it might not be as good (just a little warning)  
**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! ;]**

**_I DONT OWN GHOST HUNT_  
**

**

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Never Ending Loneliness**

_**Chapter 1**_

Alone. I was always alone ever since I was a child and not once did I ever cry. I remember the times when I walked down the street and passed by my reflection with eyes that held so much sadness. I was nothing but an emotionless doll that just walked around town, that was until I met _her. _She became my best friend and she was also the person that helped my get my emotions back slowly. I don't remember there was ever a time or day when we weren't with each other. We had lots of things in common, the only thing different about us was that she was rich and I wasn't. I remember when she always told me about these ghost that haunted her house and how their after her.

I didn't believe her until one day she was brutally killed in front of my eyes, I still can't never forget that day. Some unknown force swung her around and I remember clearly as she was impaled each time as she hit each wall. It wasn't till that day I started believe in ghost and it wasn't till that day I lost my best friend, Misoka Kato.

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_Present  
_

My hands were clasped together as I prayed in front of a grave stone, wishing my friend was doing well in heaven, My friends from long ago… the memories webbed together still linger in my mind… never leaving, staying there like a broken watch, reminding me of my mistake I made many years ago.

I wonder how many nights have passed since that day. How many hours of sleep have I gotten as those dreams haunt me day and night. A never ending cycle as I break apart piece by piece everyday. I always wondered how much longer I'll last before I end up going crazy in this wretched world ever since that day my life changed.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a few birds chirping above me, then I noticed the sun directly above me. I looked towards the time on my cell phone I pulled out, then I swore loudly. _'damn I'm late again! Argh,,, 4 hours late too damn… Naru's going to kill me'._

I quickly gathered everything, and bowed one last time before dashing through the cemetery. I didn't stop running till I got the office doors and slammed them open, yelling "Sorry I'm late!".

Of course, being the jerk he always is, yelled at me to go get his tea! I mean cant he give me a break before he wants his, apparently, highly addictive tea? With a whispering sigh, I slowly made my away to the mini kitchen and put the kettle over the stove. As I waited for it to warm up I heard the front door open, so then I slowly made my way out to greet whoever it is. I first eyed the man for a mere few seconds, before I lead him to the waiting room.

"Hello, I'm Taniyama Mai. I'm an assistant that works for Kazuya Shibuya, please follow me as I go get my boss", then I slowly lead him to another room where he waited patiently.

He was a man that was at least in his mid 50's or 60's considering all those wrinkles. He wore a black hat along with a matching black suit that fit perfectly around his oval shaped stomach. He had a big smile, which kind of made me nervous. It didn't seem like anything was wrong, but deep inside I knew he was in turmoil.

I slowly approached Naru's door, and knocked gently before poking my head in, "hey~ there's an costumer here for you". When I finished my little announcement, I slowly made my way to Lin's office, once again I knocked gently and entered. "Lin-san, we have a client".

He nodded and gathered his things before coming out of his office. We both walked down the hall in a comfortable silence, as we walked past Naru's office he came out behind us. I ditched the both of them and went to the kitchen to make some tea for the four of us, including the client. When I entered the waiting room, the old client had a serious look on his face. He was no longer smiling as he was in the middle of explaining for the paranormal activity.

"Oh, sorry for the interruption. Would you like some tea before you continue?", I'm very polite now, considering I was twenty years old now.

The client slowly nodded before I handed the tea to each individual in the room, then I took my seat next to Naru. I didn't know that Lin had left the room till he re-entered the room with a notepad. I have him a questioning look, and he understood my thoughts.

"My laptop wasn't working properly at the moment so I went to get a notepad from my office", he answered smoothly.

I nodded an affirmative of understanding before he took a seat next me. I couldn't help but blush as his arms and hips touched the side of mine for a while, I don't know when or how… but I somehow ended up falling in love with Lin after Naru shattered my heart. After I got over Naru, it wasn't till then I started to noticed the tall quiet man, we never talked but the silence was comfortable. I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and dismissed the unfocused behaviour when the old client started to talk again.

"Ms. Taniyama, I'm Hakuto Miatao. It's a please to meet you", he introduced but quickly getting back to topic. "Anyways, as I was saying… The house I'm currently living in for the past two years had some odd things going on. So, far every girl arounf the age of five to twenty that lived or came to visit have died be stabbed several time with… objects".

"How do you know it's paranormal?", questioned Naru. "Are you sure, it isn't someone in the house hold doing this?"

I gave Naru a threatening glare for being so rude, but he just glanced at me and brushed it off like it was no big deal. Oh, how I wanted to punch that pretty petty face of his! Then he has nothing to be Narcissistic about… then again what's the point in having that nickname?

I slowly snapped out of my turmoil thoughts as Mr. Miatao started to speak again in a shaky voice.

"well… we thought so at first also, but there was no evidence that they died by some one killing in the house, considering it always happened when we aren't at home. I thought it was someone but there was one time when we were all gathered and saw what happened. I don't mean as a vision or dreams, but there was a few times I had dinner parties held, and everyone in the house hold was gathered. While we were eating, some of the girls at the table would be sent flying across the room and out all over the house, while getting impaled by objects that was around the house. So far I have witnessed seven death and I wish to see no more, please I beg of you, help us. I'm afraid the next person that it'll target is my grand daughter", the old man slowly broke down in tears as Naru and Lin did their mind connection thingy and decide weather to take the case or not.

They both turned to look at me as I simply stared back, knowing what their going to say.

"Mai, you have to stay behin-", Naru never gotten to finish that sentence as I gave him an icy cold glare that over powered his. Somehow after the rejection, I learnt how to deal with his stupid glaring contest.

"Naru, if you think I'm going to staying behind like a good little child, then think again. You know what I'll do to get the location of the case that is taken place, don't you remember?", I said coldly.

Mr. Miatao just looked around confused and asked, "What do you mean young lady? Wouldn't it be better if you stayed behind?"

"No, I think it's better if I came along. I can help with the case greatly, and I am a strong girl so there is not a thing to worry about", I replied simply.

"But-" "there is no pint in making her to stay, Mr. Miatao", interrupted Lin. "in the last case that we got, it seemed to be dangerous, so we secretly took the case and left her behind. When she found out, she was furious and went as far as threatening another co-worker into telling her where the location of the case was being held. There isn't a way to keep this girl out of trouble".

With that Lin left the room, but I couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed. I knew that my selfishness must have pissed him or made him annoyed, but I don't want to be left behind.

Naru slowly stood up and announced to Mr. Miatao that we'll be taking the cause a asked of him to prepare a few room because we'll be there by tomorrow afternoon. Mr. Miatao left his address when I asked of him to, and after he left I started to clean up. I couldn't help but feel a little saddened that Lin might have been disappointed in me for being so selfish, but I simply just didn't want to be alone again… like I was in the past. I hated being alone, so I would do anything not to be even if it meant to be selfish, but I could never tell them this reason.

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**I think each chapter will be at lease three pages long... i dont like to write too much for a chapter for some reason...  
Some chapters will at least be five to six pages long... but... it depends on how i feel..  
so the average is always three pages, sorry if its too short for some of you guys**

**Anyways i hope you enjoyed this chapter  
and please wait for a while before the next one comes out  
i have to deal with exams at the moment, but i hope you look forward to it**

Thanks for reading and please review! ;]

**(reviews make me happy ~ 3)  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**YOOOOOOO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE!  
My computer was fixed a while ago... LOL sorry .  
I forgot about this and i guess when i remembered... i got lazy  
SORRY I DIDNT MEAN TO! I'm still containuing this story if youre wondering XD  
haha I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and HOPEFULLY I'll update soon :D**

**I DONT OWN GHOST HUNT**

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**Never Ending Loneliness**

_**Chapter 2  
**_

Since yesterday, Lin and I haven't talked at all. Of course I went to apologize to him but he just nodded towards me. It hurts to know that the one I like is disappointed in my actions, you cant really blame me for being afraid of being alone… We started getting closer after he came back from London after burying Gene… and I guess along the way I fell in love with him. He may seem old… but he's just 26 years old, 8 years older than me. I sighed as I gazed out the window, bored. It's not like Naru will have a normal conversation without talking about himself or insulting me… and since Lin is currently ignoring me…. There's nothing I can do about it. Slowly I drifted off into my dream world… dreaming about something I never wish to remember.

_The first thing that echoed through the darkness of my dream world was a whole bunch of thuds. Like someone was getting thrown around and when I turned around, I felt some thing splatter all over my face. With my small trembling hands I slowly reached up and touched the metallic smelling liquid on my face. When I saw what was on my hands I felt my eyes widen and looked at the broken glass shard on the floor…. My face was covered in blood… and I was in the body of a 6 year old Taniyama Mai. Myself from the past. I felt a sudden chill down my spine as I felt my head slowly look up. "No!", I screamed. "NO! I don't want to see this! I don't want to remember this! NO STOP!". I felt tears leak from my eyes and in the eyes of the child, I looked up with shock as I watched my friend flew from wall to wall…. Her screams slowly decreased with each impact and finally… silence. My hands slowly raised and clutched my brunette hair as I scream as loud as I can. I screamed and screamed till I couldn't anymore and till I started gasping for air before I passed out._

_Then everything around me went black and before I knew it, my friend, Misoka Kato was a few meters away from me. _

"_Mai…", her voice was filled with so much happiness, I didn't get why. "Mai… you came back for me… no worries you can die soon and we can continue being friends like nothing happened… you can be with me forever… for eternity"._

"_What! Misoka what are you talking about?", I yelled back. I was scared… the grin on her face scared me. This isn't the friend I once knew… there was something… something… evil about her… "hehe, you don't have to worry Mai… everything will end soon", Misoka tilted her head to the side as her grin got bigger. _

_One hand flew up right in front of her… a few seconds passed and nothing thing happened. Then as she suddenly swung her arm and I flew across the darkness as my back came impact with a wall that appeared out of no where. I coughed up blood as pain spread across my back like having acid being poured on my back. When I looked up, Misako was right before me with a sinister grin. One hand gripped my neck as her other arm was in the air… her nails slowly grew. She brought one sharp nail to my arm and started to write something. I screamed each time as she slowly wrote one letter into my arm. When she finished she reached up to my ears and whispered something. Then I felt something jab into my stomach. Tears filled my eyes as I screamed in agony and pain. Then… I finally woke up…._

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**Lin's POV**

I sighed as I saw Mai fall asleep against the glass window. I don't know why but sometimes I cant stand her stubbornness and her immaturity. We only told her to stay behind cause I care- WE care about her. I sighed once again, catching Naru's attention making him raise an eyebrow at me. "why don't you just talk to her?", Naru questioned.

I knew what he was talking about, since he was the only one who knew that I had feelings towards the girl. Who am I kidding? Probably everyone knows since we became close when we came back to Japan.

"I don't know, she needs to learn to grow up and be mature about things", I replied. "Naru, she's 18 and at that age she has got to know not to be selfish and start thinking of others feelings and act her age".

"have you ever thought about her feelings Lin? She grew up being independent with no parents. Even when she was 16 and started working for us, she still kept everything to herself. You can even deny that she might be hiding something from us right now. It wasn't till recently did she start to act selfish… when you think about it she's only selfish when she just doesn't want to be left behind", Naru replied.

Naru usually only talks a lot to me when were either alone or when we know most people cant hear us. I sighed and pulled up to the mansion where our case was going to be held.

"I'll talk to her when she wakes up", was my only reply and at the corner of my eye I saw Naru smirk.

Then all of a sudden Mai started screaming, "NO! I don't want to see this! I don't want to remember this! NO STOP!". I quickly ran to her to try and wake her up but all of a sudden she stopped scream. Worried that something might have happened to her I tried shaking her awake.

"Mai! MAI! Wake up!", I yelled in panic.

I started to notice as she became deadly pale and sweat covered her face. Mai started to shake. She suddenly gasp for breath as she suddenly coughed up blood and groaned in pain. Once again, she started screaming again as blood soaked her long sleeve striped shirt. I did nothing as Naru and I stared in shock, when realization came we quickly went to check her arms but then all of a sudden Mai screamed again and shot straight up, wide awake. Her eyes darting around in panic as if she was looking and checking for something.

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**Mai's POV**

Once I knew I've woken up and was back in reality, my eyes darted around the place. I felt my stomach and saw there was no hold or blood… but it still hurt as if someone was stabbing me endlessly. My arms were all cut up, but I didn't care. I quickly shoved Lin out of my view and rushed out the car… only to end up standing before the house I wished to have never returned to. I didn't care about the blood that was pooling around my feet, I didn't care about anything at that moment. I couldn't take my eyes off the mansion before me and feeling my heart pounding my ribcage almost painfully.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I fell to the floor and started crying like there was no tomorrow. Strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around me and held me till I passed out from exhaustion. I heard a car pull over and a whole bunch of people rushing out towards me before I was pulled away from the comforting arms and laid on the floor for someone to check my injuries.

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**Did you guys enjoy this chapter?  
HAHA I'll try to update soon (hopefully)**

**But until then please review**  
**thanks for reading :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! sorry for the REALLY late update! I feel really bad about the long update, and sorry for not letting all of you guys know whats happening.  
Well, for personal reasons I dont really want to mention about... I couldnt update.  
Sounds like a lame excuse but I'm being serious, believe me or not... it's your choice. If you really want to know why, msg me and I'll tell you.  
But I would like for you guys to know RIGHT NOW that my updates might be coming later due to something personal, school, exams, work, etc.  
I had not ment for my update to be so late, so I apologize. I'll try to update whenever I can, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to update more half way through June if im not working.**

_**anyways, I apologize once again for the late update. I hope you enjoy this chapter :D**_

_**I DO NOT OWN GHOST HUNT**_

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**Never Ending Loneliness**

_**Chapter 3  
**_

Pain. That was all felt as I opened my eyes to the bright light in the room. I looked around to see if there was anyone with me and there wasn't, so I slowly sat up and looked out the window that my bed was next to. _'Damn, I never wanted to step foot into this house… And I'm going to have to tell them…. About my past and my dream…',_ I sighed.

I was so deep into my thoughts, that when I heard a knock on the door, I practically almost jumped out of my bed. "C-come in…", I said slowly. As the door slowly opened, I just hoped I wasn't going to be tackled with hugs by Bou-san, but instead Lin walked in.

"how are you feeling Mai?", he asked gently, so gently that it made me almost want to cry and run into his arms and tell him everything…. But I cant… I had to be a strong girl that everyone thinks I am. I cant be weak…

"I'm fine… just in a little bit of pain", I smiled.

"I thought so… Mai, the reason why you feel pain in your arms is because there's something written down your arm", Lin said to me as he laced his fingers together covering his mouth and looking intently at me.

"W-written?", An cold feeling fell upon my shoulders and I quickly lifted up my sleeves to see my bandaged arms. Right when I was about to rip the bandages off, a larger and warm hand fell upon mine.

"Mai, calm down", Lin said. Recently Lin has been using my first name recently and every time he says my name, I feel so calm. "Right now you shouldn't take your bandages off, it might reopen your wounds. Don't worry though, the cuts aren't deep enough to leave scars, but it will take a while to heal". "Lin-san…." I whispered quietly.

"what is it Mai?", he looked at me but realized my head was bowed down. His fingers wrapped around my chin and lifted my head up so I could look into his eyes. "Mai… what's wrong?" I felt tears overflowing in my eyes, but I didn't let them fall. "Lin-san… what was written on my arm?". At first Lin was quiet but then he told me that "MINE!" was written down my arm. That's when I couldn't hold in my tears anymore and I quickly hugged Lin-san, crying my heart out as a started telling him everything of my past. "Lin-san! What do I do? The person haunting this house is my best friend from my childhood. She wants me dead, I don't know what to do. I never wanted to step foot into this house! I don't want to be here but if I leave I'm scared she'll hurt you guys or haunt me forever now that she found me!", as I said this, endless tears were falling out of my eyes as I kept repeating what I was saying over and over. The whole time, Lin had his strong arms wrapped around me, he kept quiet but for some odd reason I felt he was comforting me also. "Mai…", Lin started but pause to think of the right words to put into a sentence. "Mai, I don't exactly know what happened in your past but we'll be here for you. Naru, Ayako, Bou-san, John, Masako, and even myself. We'll all be here for you and we'll protect you no matter what, even if we don't know anything of your past. So you don't have to tell us anything that will upset you. Take it slow, we're here for you".

Glancing up at him, I let my lips twitch upwards as I gave him a smile that clearly said 'thank you'. "Thanks Lin-san, but… I think the more you guys know the better… I don't want you guys to be in any danger… especially if its because of me". "Mai, it wont be your fault if we are injured. What happens, happens. You cant stop everything so don't blame yourself for anything that happens to us", Lin said as he hugged me closer to him. I could only hug back as I started to finally relax a little. After a few minutes, which felt like forever, I left Lin-san arms and headed to the washroom to go wash my face, while he waited outside in the hall way. As I entered the bathroom, I blushed a scarlet red remembering how we…. Embraced each other. Turning on the tap, I closed my eyes and started splashing my face with water till I smelt something metallic. Panic washed over me as I slowly opened my eyes, expecting that everything was okay.

The first thing I laid eyes on was the bloody crimson water that reflected my fear in my eyes. I quickly backed up away from the bloody sink, but all of a sudden hands formed and grabbed my wrist making struggling futile. I was forcefully yanked back towards the mirror as I am now face to face with my childhood friend in the reflection. Now I was scared shitless and wanted to scream till my voice was ripped away from my voice box, but I couldn't. I couldn't scream as my friends hand came out the mirror and her forefinger carefully trace the outline of my face.

"hmm", she hummed. "Mai, you have gotten prettier. I'm so glad I got such a pretty friend". She started laughing as she yanked my hair back and she came mere inches away from my face.

Her wide crazed eyes stared into mine, as she kept laughing while blood started to pool in her mouth and pour out all over my face and neck. Out of panic I used some unknown strength and threw a nearby comb into the mirror, smashing it and making Misoka disappear. The bloody hands released me as Lin started pounding on the bathroom door telling me to open up.

I didn't move from my spot as I stared at the bath tub that started running scarlet red water all of a sudden. I ignored when Bou-san and Naru started swearing and yelling at me to open the door because all I could concentrate was how a pale hand pop out of the bath tub and clench on the edges of the tub. Slowly a head started to come up, and I finally made eye contact with my friends spirit.

"Now, that wasn't very nice MAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!", Misoka said slowly before she screamed my name and charged at me. Right before she could claw my eyes out, something flew past me and attacked her, Lin's shinki.

Everything happened so fast that I didn't know what was going on. I was curled up into a ball and had my eyes closed as Lin's shinki battled with Misoka, and how Naru and Lin-san kept trying to break the door down. When the door broke down, I still didn't bother to look up till I felt myself being lifted from the ground by a pair of warm strong arms. Lin carried me out into the hallway, took off his jacket and wrapped it around me before he pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me.

"Everything's going to be alright", he whispered before I lost consciousness once again.

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**Thanks for reading! please review and feel free to msg me if you're curious enough to question where the heck I've been** **for 6 months**.  
**once again I apologize for the late update and I would like to remind you from now till June, I'll be updating a little later.**  
**Review and tell me your thoughts, thanks you!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys sorry for the late update. Regarding some reasons with my other fanfic, I had put off writing for a while... but now I'm back and I sincerly apologize for the late update and not putting up a A/N.  
I reread some of my stories to remember where I am and I noticed in the first chapter that I said Mai was 20 years old... and in chapter two and three I said she was 18. Sorry for that mistake but just to clearify, Mai is 18 years old.  
Also I don't ever edit my stories because I'm not publishing this as a novel... so I dont see a point in correcting grammar mistakes. I think my grammar is well enough and easy for people to catch any mistakes and correct it themselves. This was one of the issues with my other stories, so yeah.  
**

**Any questions asked please PM or review them. Thanks :D**  
**I hope you enjoy this chapter XD**

**_I DONT OWN GHOST HUNT_**

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**Never Ending Loneliness**

**Chapter 4**

Honestly, I didn't feel like waking up but I know I had to. I had to stop Misoka before she kills me or any of my friends. So I forcefully open my eyes, only to wince when it met with bright light.

"Mai", I heard someone call as slowly tried to adjust to the light.

"Lin?", I asked as I turned my head to the side where the voice had came from; trying to make out the shadow next to my bed.

"Yeah, it's me", he said in a gentle voice as if he didn't want me to break from the case that we have just gotten. "are you feeling any better?".

Moaning as I tried to sit up, I clutched my head in pain. "I'm alright I guess, but I couldn't say I have had better days… Where am I?", I asked as I glanced around the room and notice I wasn't in my own bed.

"You're currently in my room that I'm sharing with Naru". He replied as he watched me swing me legs over the side of the bed. " Once we get to the base, Naru's going to ask you some questions. Think you can handle them?"

"If I'm being attacked by a ghost of my childhood friend and I'm handling it somehow, I think being questioned wont be much compared to that", I whispered and if it wasn't for the silent room, I don't think Lin would have heard me. He gave me a nod of conformation before he helped me get out of bed since my legs were still kind of weak.

Walking down the hallway towards the base had been awkward and embarrassing. At first I had my arm around his neck as we walked down the hall but due to the height difference, Lin was slouched in a awkward position. We stumbled a few times, but we somehow caught ourselves before we fell. Then due to my unluckiness, or luck, I tripped over a carpet, pulling Lin down with me. He somehow pivot our positions and I landed on top of him instead. He grunted in pain as I landed on top, making his fall a lot harder.

I quickly sat up, not really caring about our position, I yelled " Lin! Are you alright!?".

"Yes Mai. I'm fine…", he replied slowly. "but do you think you can get off of me… Our positions could cause a misunderstanding".

Looking down I noticed I was straddled on his waist and to my embarrassment, my skirt was hitching up a little. I made a little sound sounding like a 'eep', before I quickly climbed off of him and sat down with my legs tucked underneath me, while I tugged at my skirt to make it lower.

"Y-you d-didn't see anything d-did you?", I asked quietly as I felt my face burning from the blush that must be on it now. I glanced up from my bangs and looked at Lin.

He had sat up with one of his long legs pulled up to his chest. His left arm rested on it as his palm was pulled up to his face, covering his mouth. "No I didn't", he replied and gave me a quick side glance before he quickly stood up. "We should get going", he said as he came over to me.

At first I thought he was going to help me off the floor, but instead he picked me up princess style, making me let out an undignified 'eep' once again. "This would be a lot easier and faster than having to stumble and stop every few seconds", he said when he saw me gave him a questioning glance.

Nodding my head, unable to form any words due to my embarrassment, I wrapped my arms around his neck as we made our way to the base.

* * *

**Lin's POV**

As I walked down the hallway leading to the base, the only thought that occurred to me was, _'I better start making her wear jeans or a longer skirt… if we ever start dating'. _

When we entered the base, everyone gave us odd stares. Naru didn't have a expression on his face but I saw the slight twitch of his lips and one of his eyebrows wiggling at me. I sighed and walked over to the couch and placed Mai down as I got her a cup of glass water. Right when I placed her down and walked away, I heard Bou-san tackle her in a hug before everyone one else tackled her with worried questions. I felt a small smile reach my face as I knew she had a lot of people worrying for her and I also felt a little triumph when no one dared to approach me.

"Mai! Are you feeling better?", asked Ayako in a motherly voice.

"Are you feeling mentally, physically, spiritually and what ever the hell better?", Shouted Bou-san. "DO YOU NEED A DOCTOR!?", he shouted as he started shaking her for answers when she wasn't replying fast enough.

Ayako quickly smacked his head and started yelling at him. "Stop that you BRUTE! If you haven't notice, I am a doctor and as a doctor I suggest you to stop shaking her before you give her a damn concussion!".

'What's that you old hag!?", Bou-san yelled back.

"Hey guys…", John stepped in. "I think you guys should stop fighting. Mai-chan isn't feeling well…".

When I came back to the couch and placed the glass of water in front of Mai, I saw her give me a grateful glance. Taking a few sips, she told Naru that she was ready for questioning. When I was about to go back to my laptop, I felt a tug on my shirt. Glancing behind me, she blushed and looked down shyly. "u-uhm can you stay next to me?"

I smiled and nodded. "But I need to get my laptop first to record everything. I'll be right back".

Quickly walking over to the computers, I grabbed my laptop and strode back to the couch and plop down right next to Mai. I saw everyone else giving us side glances before snickering or giggling to once another. I sighed, knowing what they were talking about. There was no way Mai could have the same amount of feelings I have for her. She probably only sees me as a brother figure or a uncle or a dad… despite the 8 years difference between us, I still feel pretty old. I sighed once again and concentrate on typing once I heard Naru start asking questions.

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**Normal POV**

"How are you connect to this case, Mai?", Naru asked bluntly.

"When… I was a little girl… after my parents died, I was sent to an orphanage", Mai said quietly. "Ever since the day my parents passed away, I have always felt alone. Even at the orphanage I felt unwanted since I knew the caretakers were only doing their jobs. They didn't really care for us and I know because I have always felt it. Moving from a loving atmosphere of my own family to a house full of strangers…."

"We're here for you now Mai", Said John.

Mai sent him a small smile before she turned her attention back to her hands clasp tightly on her lap before continuing. "I… I was scared. I was scared of being alone and being at the orphanage reminded me of the family I had lost. I felt abandoned when I was placed in a house full of strangers and kids filled with sadness. At first I tried to befriend them, to start anew, but they didn't't care. They were all too caught up in their grief and wanted to be left alone. So I ran away".

"What!? Ran away from the orphanage!?", Exclaimed Bou-san. "do you know how dangerous that could have been?".

"Stop it", Said Masako. "She was just a child at the time and you cant change what she had done. Continue on Mai".

Mai just nodded. Ever since Masako found out Mai love someone else other than Naru, their friendship have been gradually building and now most could say their best friends, if not for the few occasional fights here and then.

"I know it was dangerous. But I…. Don't know. At that time I was so afraid of being alone… I got scared and ran away to a place where I could meet someone that could care for me. I was suffocating in that house and I had to escape, so I did. I don't know how many days I had wondered in the city or slept in the park but it was when I met a young girl my age", Mai Smiled sadly. "Her name was Misoka Kato"

"Was she the one who attacked you and is currently the one haunting this house?", Asked Naru.

Mai nodded once again on confirmation. "She was also the one that saved me from suicide and -".

"Wait! Hold up!", Yelled Ayako. "SUICIDE!?".

Lin had even stopped typing to look at the brunette sitting next to her. A look of worry flashed in his eyes and his lips turned down in a disapproving frown.

"Yeah, and I'm sorry I don't know what I was thinking at the time", Mai apologized. "Everything became too much to handle at one point and I had attempted to kill my self by throwing myself in front of a on coming car. Luckily they had stopped before they had collided with me. The driver was Misoka's family personal driver. Misoka, took to her home and tried to take care of me. I didn't let her get near me though and had actually put up a fight", Mai laughed.

"But didn't you want to have someone care for you?" asked Lin. "why would you push someone away when you finally found someone?".

"That was because of the time I spent on the streets through harsh weathers and because of my situation… I've developed a fear of being alone. Haven't you noticed how persistent I am when you guys want to leave me behind on a case?", Mai laugh nervously. "But back to the story at hand…. I eventually opened up to Misoka and we became the best of friends. I had even started to live with her after her parents grew fond of me. They were about to adopt me but… a few things happened.".

"A few things?", Naru raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah… Misoka started telling me about how her house is haunted and how the spirits we're after her. Of course I didn't believe her and she kept trying to prove it to me. She would show me how messy her room is and she would tell me that she cleaned it before we went out of play in the garden or something. I told her that she must have forgotten to put stuff away. She got angry and yelled at me for not believing her. That same day, at dinner, when a maid was serving us…. The maid suddenly flew across the room and smashed out the window. We quickly check the maid to see if she was okay but after when we found her still alive… the glass suddenly flew up and stabbed her to death. The Kato family had gotten scared and laid of the adoption to handle the police, news, and work responsibilities.".

"Was it really a ghost at that time?", asked Masako.

Mai shook her head. "I don't know… I don't believe so".

"What do you mean?", asked Naru.

"Even though after the maid's accident and many deaths following after that, nothing really paranormal happened. Eventually Misoka parents were next. Misoka and I had came home after playing outside and we found the Kato couple dead. Misoka started screaming and panicking that the spirits were after her. Next thing I knew was seeing Misoka flying around the living room, I saw the light slowly leave her eyes as she kept getting impale by the objects hanging on the wall.", A chocked sob broke past Mai lips as she started crying into her hands.

Lin had quickly wrapped a comforting arm around her and pulled her into a side hug as Masako sat next to Mai and started rubbing smoothing circles around her back.

"Even if there was a spirit haunting the house… don't you think it would be the spirit who killed the maid and not Misoka? Why would it only be Misoka?", Mai said quietly"

"People change after death Mai", Spoke Masako.

"I know… and I know Misoka had changed after all the attacks… but where are the other evil spirits? Have you guys ever thought of that?", Mai questioned once again.

"What are you getting at Mai?", asked Naru as he stared at the brunette with calculating eyes.

Mai glance up at him and then quickly looked back down at her lap as he hands gripped the side of her head. "I… I'm the one responsible for her death…".

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please review! XD**

**~Kamigoshi**


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